Love at First Spark

5 | August: First Day

The first day of school was always eight hours of pure excitement in elementary school. Then in middle school, it became more nerve wracking—facing middle school mean girls really took a toll. In high school, it became more of a chore. And college...well, college usually involved a lot more anxiety, waking up with hours to spare, and being the first one to class by at least half an hour.

So it was no surprise that on my first day as a teacher, there was the familiar churn of excitement and terror that whirled in my stomach.

I groaned at the sound of my alarm and rolled out of bed. The sun was barely up in the sky as I dressed in a blouse and pencil skirt and swiped on some mascara. But this was what I'd worked so hard for! This was my first real grown-up job and a chance to teach young kids the ways of the world with math facts and Magic School Bus. With a final look in the mirror, I trudged into the kitchen and flipped on the keurig to brew some coffee—extra strong—in a travel mug.

"Oh my god, do you have to be so loud?" Eloise groaned.

I smirked, turning around to lean against the counter. "Morning, El. Late night?" Ever since the night that Braden dropped me off

Eloise grunted and stomped over to the Keurig.

"Look, I have to head out to school," I said. "Drink some water and take some aspirin."

"Are you sure you can't stay and make me anything greasy?" she asked with a pout.

I rolled my eyes. "You know how to make it yourself, El. I can't keep doing that for you. I have a job now. And you have a job, too."

Eloise flopped on the couch after grabbing an ice pack from the freezer. "I don't have to be in for a few hours."

I grabbed my purse and keys off of the kitchen counter, stuffing a blueberry muffin into a ziploc bag for the car ride. "Then go back to sleep. Now, I seriously need to get going. Have you seen my tan wedges?"

My sister waved in the general direction of...our entire apartment. "Check my closet."

I chuckled. "I'll just wear something else." I slipped on a pair of simple flats and walked out to my car.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the elementary school with the last dregs of coffee sloshing around the bottom of my travel mug. My closest friend, Daphne, greeted me with open arms from the classroom next to mine. We'd been through all four years of college together, shared group projects, cried over the late hours, and finally screamed with joy when we found out we would both be teaching at the same school.

"So, how was your big date?" Daphne asked. She dipped a bag of peppermint tea leaves into a cup of hot water.

A flush crept to my cheeks. "Amazing. Braden is absolutely amazing. And I feel kind of bad because Dex is amazing too but—"

"Dex isn't here anymore," Daphne finished for me. "I know that's tough to swallow but the two of you barely had a relationship. You kissed, what? A handful of times?"

"Yeah, I know I know. It was a fling if you could even call it that. But I still feel guilty because of the 'what if'."

"Ames, you can't get through life waiting on the 'what ifs'. Braden is here and now. And you're acting on that. Two dates in as many weeks?" She sipped her tea.

"Yeah, and more coming once we figure out our schedules." I scratched the back of my head. "It sounds like he has a bit of a chaotic schedule some weeks with work maybe or helping out his sister with childcare."

"Well, it sounds like things are already going pretty well. Have you kissed him yet?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are we thirteen, Daph? No, not yet. But not for lack of trying." I sighed and relayed the story about the pecans and then my sister's fateful interruption on the front stoop.